Press
This is basically a wee page for all the nice stuff folk have said about me, thanks to the people that said it, if you want to see the full review/related content click on the title.
Broadway Baby, review of “Bach for Breakfast” (19/08/11), Royal Overseas League Edinburgh Clubhouse (Lexie Wilson): ”A maturity beyond [his] years, truly connecting with the pieces and consequentially…delivering a wonderful performance…elegantly demonstrated the beauty of [his] instrument. Excellence, breaking interspersing Bach with a brief interlude of Mudarra’s Fantasia X111, the warm tones of his classical guitar highlighted to perfection. A resounding sense of control over the music, seeming to instinctively understand when to hold back and when to play more passionately; the honeyed tones of the guitar permeating every inch of the room.”
New Kid at the Fringe, review of “Latino Nights” (16/08/11), Royal Overseas League Edinburgh Clubhouse (Kathleen Rutherford): “Sean Shibe is not an act to be missed. Sean’s performance was enchanting from the offset. Opening with the very lyrical Lobos, his passion and intensity immediately captured the audience and set the scene for a very special evening. The Piazzolla which followed was a personal highlight. The warmth and spirit with which he executed even the most technically difficult sections brought a real taste of Buenos Aires to a very rainy Edinburgh and was genuinely inspiring. During the final piece, a furious and virtuous sonata by Ginastera, Sean showed how diverse the guitar can be. He moved from haunting harmonics to dangerously angry chords – and all with a real flair and astounding technical ability.”
Bachtrack website, Recital as part of the ‘Music @ 100 Princes Street’ series at the Royal Overseas League Edinburgh Clubhouse, 11th May (Alan Coady): “Sean captured the mood…wonderfully. It was impressive to experience…bleak beauty so convincingly interpreted by such a young performer. Sean performed…with such panache and assurance that it’s difficult to imagine the panel in the RSOL Annual Music Competition Finals being less than bowled over.”
EGTA Website, AGM concert review: “Sean Shibe played the Mudarra Fantasia with razor-sharp dynamic control and a wonderful sense of architecture. Walton’s Five Bagatelles were breathtaking – this was a transcendental performance and it is hard to imagine that it has been performed better – utterly wonderful. He followed this with an elegant and poised rendition of Tarrega’s Endecha y Oremus and finished with the Rodrigo Invocacion y Danza, which built to a superb climax.Conference agreed that with players of this capability, the future of the classical guitar in the UK is in safe hands.”
The Herald (Michael Tumelty) – 27/04/10: “Shibe was back on stage fuelling the engine with astounding playing in Richard Greer’s IDST…strong, confident playing gave the concert its stature.”
The Herald (Michael Tumelty) – 04/05/09:“Then came utter magic in Marek Pasieczny’s guitar Sequenza, which took the guitar into little-explored, often exotic and always beguiling territory, and played by, I believe, the finest acoustic guitarist I have ever heard, Sean Shibe, a first year student who, incredibly, is still 16. Remember the name. One day he will be famous; I do not exaggerate.”
Classical Guitar Magazine: “dynamic…spectacularly talented”
The Herald (Conrad Wilson) – 09/08/08: “Shibe, the youngest musician ever to win a scholarship to the RSAMD, is a guitarist of rare perception. Resolutely serious and wholly unsmiling, he focuses entirely on the music, whether it is Leo Brouwer’s Cuban sonata (another work with a visual source, in this case the art of Paul Klee), or the masterly wit and vibrancy of Walton’s Five Bagatelles.”
The List: “Sean Shibe is a young guitarist with angels at his fingertips.”
Graham Devine (Naxos recording artist): “Sean has the rare ability to pull the listener in and hang on every note of his performances. His playing shows remarkable musical maturity. I can honestly say Sean is the most talented young guitarist I have ever heard.”
